Finney saw the male suspect tussle with a female employee inside the Crestwood Schnucks. That got his attention. As the suspect tried to run out the entrance, Finney pinned the suspect to the ground until Crestwood police arrived.

“He was still trying to fight me saying some choice words,” said Finney. “He wasn’t getting up. I can promise you that.”

Finney says the suspect had seven bottles of vodka under his coat and one of them broke on impact.

Finney owns two MMA schools, one in Crestwood and the other in Granite City, Illinois. He started taking mixed martial arts classes when he was 9. Now his schools teach students as young as 4.

He says there are misconceptions about MMA fighters, “You’re a mean guy, you’re a tough guy or you’re a bully and a lot of times it’s just the opposite.”